Snohomish County, Washington
Snohomish County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. It is named after the Snohomish tribe. Since 2000, the county's population has grown from 606,024 to 713,335 residents (2010), making it one of the fastest-growing in the state, ranking third in overall population after King (1,931,249) and Pierce (795,225) counties (per 2010 Census figures). The county seat is Everett, the county's largest city in population. Snohomish County was created out of Island County on January 14, 1861. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,196 square miles (5,689 km²), of which 2,089 square miles (5,411 km²) is land and 107 square miles (278 km²) (4.89%) is water. The highest point in the county is volcanic Glacier Peak at 10,541 feet (3,213 meters) above sea level. Snohomish County is bordered on the west by Puget Sound, except near Stanwood, where Davis Slough is the border between it and Camano Island, which is part of Island County. On the east it is bordered by the crestline of the North Cascades. It is 36 miles (57.6 km) from its northern boundary with Skagit County at 332nd St. NW/NE, to its southern boundary with King County, at 244th St. SW/SE. Streets are gridded 16 blocks to the mile (10 blocks to the km). National protected areas *Mount Baker National Forest (part) *Snoqualmie National Forest (part) Although these two forests have been administratively combined into the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, the county contains portions of both original forests. Natural features Mountains *Cascade Mountains *Glacier Peak, highest point in Snohomish County *Mount Pilchuck *Three Fingers *Whitehorse Mountain Major rivers *Skykomish River *Snohomish River *Snoqualmie River *Stillaguamish River Major bodies of water *Lake Goodwin *Lake Stevens *Port Susan *Port Gardner *Puget Sound *Silver Lake *Spada Lake *Tulalip Bay *Martha Lake *Lake Bosworth *Lake Roesiger *Lake Cavanaugh Islands *Ebey Island *Gedney Island (also called Hat Island) *Spencer Island Political features Most populous cities *Everett - 103,019 *Marysville - 60,020 *Edmonds - 39,709 *Lynnwood - 35,836 *Lake Stevens - 28,069 Adjacent counties *Skagit County, Washington - north *Chelan County, Washington - east *King County, Washington - south *Island County, Washington - west Transportation Roads Snohomish County has five major routes that connect the county to the other counties and other areas. There are four north-south routes, which are Interstate 5, Interstate 405, State Route 9, and State Route 99. The only complete east-west route is U.S. Route 2. Interstates and U.S. Routes State Routes Former Routes (PSH/SSH) Buses and trains Snohomish County is linked by many bus routes from three systems, which are Community Transit, Everett Transit (Everett only), and Sound Transit. The county also has train access from Everett Station for Amtrak's Empire Builder line (to Chicago), and Cascades line (to Vancouver, BC, Edmonds, and Seattle), and Sound Transit's Sounder service to and from Seattle, which links to the South Line that goes to Tacoma.Sounder Commuter Rail Community Transit is operates a bus rapid transit service called Swift from Everett Station to the Aurora Village in Shoreline along the SR 99 corridor. Sound Transit is also planning to extend Link Light Rail service to Lynnwood and eventually, Everett Station. The line will be known as the North Link. Airplanes and ferries Snohomish County has one official airport and several municipal airports. The county also is connected by two ferry lines operated by Washington State Ferries. The one official airport is Paine Field, otherwise known as Snohomish County Airport. There are smaller outlying airports, such as Harvey Field in Snohomish. There are two municipal airports, Arlington Municipal and Darrington Municipal. There are also two private airports, one in Lake Stevens and another in Granite Falls. The Martha Lake Airport in Martha Lake was a former private airport that was closed in 2000List of airports in Washington As said in the introduction above, there are two ferry routes operated by Washington State Ferries in Snohomish County waters that go to and from different counties from the county.Washington State Ferries#Routes The first line is the Edmonds-Kingston route, which carries SR 104. SR 104 terminates in the west at US 101 west of the Kitsap Peninsula, after crossing the Hood Canal over the Hood Canal Bridge. SR 104 terminates in the east at Interstate 5 on the county boundary with King County.Washington State Route 104 The second line is the Mukilteo-Clinton line, which carries SR 525. SR 525 terminates in the west at SR 20 on Whidbey Island, near where SR 20 goes across on another ferry line to US 101. SR 525 terminates in the east at an interchange with Interstate 5, where it continues as Interstate 405.Washington State Route 525 Education Snohomish County is one of the most-populous counties in the United States without a four-year, baccalaureate degree-granting institution. Everett Community College and Edmonds Community College provide academic transfer degrees, career training and basic education in Snohomish County. Together, the two serve more than 40,000 people annually. About 40 percent of all high school graduates in Snohomish County begin their college education at Edmonds or Everett community college. Everett Community College is the legislatively appointed leader of the University Center of North Puget Sound http://www.uceverett.org, which offers 25 bachelor's and master's degrees through Western Washington University, Washington State University, Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, The Evergreen State College, Hope International University, and the University of Washington Bothell. Edmonds Community College and Central Washington University have worked together since 1975 to provide higher education in Snohomish County. After earning a two-year degree online or on campus from Edmonds Community College, students can continue their studies for a bachelor's degree from Central Washington University-Lynnwood in Snoqualmie Hall, a shared building on the Edmonds CC campus. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 606,024 people, 224,852 households, and 157,846 families residing in the county. The population density was 290 people per square mile (112/km²). There were 236,205 housing units at an average density of 113 per square mile (44/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.63% White, 1.67% Black or African American, 1.36% Native American, 5.78% Asian, 0.28% Pacific Islander, 1.92% from other races, and 3.36% from two or more races. 4.72% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.2% were of German, 10.0% English, 8.8% Irish, 8.4% Norwegian and 6.6% United States or American ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 224,852 households out of which 37.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.00% were married couples living together, 9.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.80% were non-families. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.13. In the county, the population was spread out with 27.40% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 33.00% from 25 to 44, 22.00% from 45 to 64, and 9.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 100.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $53,060, and the median income for a family was $60,726. Males had a median income of $43,293 versus $31,386 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,417. About 4.90% of families and 6.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.60% of those under age 18 and 7.80% of those age 65 or over. Census-recognized communities *Alderwood Manor *Arlington *Arlington Heights *Bothell *Brier *Cathan *Cathcart *Darrington *Echo Lake *Edmonds *Esperance *Everett *Gold Bar *Granite Falls *Index *John Sam Lake *Jordan Road-Canyon Creek *Lake Bosworth *Lake Goodwin *Lake Ketchum *Lake Roesiger *Lake Stevens *Lochsloy *Lynnwood *Machias *Maltby *Martha Lake *Marysville *May Creek *Mill Creek *Monroe *Mountlake Terrace *Mukilteo *North Creek *North Marysville *North Stanwood *North Sultan *Northwest Snohomish *Oso *Paine Field-Lake Stickney *Picnic Point-North Lynnwood *Priest Point *Seattle Hill-Silver Firs *Shaker Church *Silvana *Snohomish *Stanwood *Startup *Stimson Crossing *Sultan *Three Lakes *Tulalip Bay *Verlot *Warm Beach *Weallup Lake *West Lake Stevens *Woods Creek *Woodway Other communities *Bryant *Clearview *Eastmont *Elger Bay *Fobes Hill *Kennard Corner *Larimers Corner *Pinehurst *Queensborough *Seattle Heights *Trafton History Origin of the county's name Snohomish is the name of a Native American tribe in the area. Some associate the word as meaning "land of the low people". Major historical events that occurred in county Snohomish County was created out of Island County on January 14, 1861. The county seat of Snohomish when established was the city of Snohomish, Washington starting in 1861.http://www.ci.snohomish.wa.us/HistoryDevelopment.htm The city of Everett took the seat in a disputed move in 1895. It was in a vote.http://heraldnet.com/article/20110102/NEWS01/701029857/1122 One of the first county censuses was taken in 1862 by Sheriff Salem A. Woods. Early important pioneers in the Snohomish County region included E. F. Cady of Snohomish, E. C. Ferguson of Snohomish and Isaac Cathcart. Law/government County Executive The county executive is Aaron Reardon, a Democrat. Reardon is a former state representative. The county executive seat was chartered in the 1979.Brooks, Diane. Seattle Times. Willis Tucker Obituary: "He led his county into new age with a smile". July 2, 2000. Accessed 5 January 2011. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20000702&slug=4029881 The first county executive was conservative Democrat Willis Tucker of Snohomish from 1980 to 1991. Following Tucker, the next county executive was Democrat Bob Drewel from 1991 to 2002.Stevick, Eric. The Everett Herald. 2008. http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20080805/NEWS01/999818046 County Council The county council is made up ofhttp://www1.co.snohomish.wa.us/Departments/Council/Districts/: * John Koster ® - district 1 * Vice-Chairman Brian Sullivan (D) - district 2 * Stephanie Wright (D) - district 3 * Dave Gossett (D) - district 4 * Chairman Dave Somers (D) - district 5 Koster and Sullivan are both former state representatives. In the 2010 state elections, Koster narrowly lost to Rick Larsen in an election for U.S. Representative seat 2.http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20101123/NEWS01/711239887 Economy See also *Isaac Cathcart *National Register of Historic Places listings in Snohomish County, Washington References External links *Official Snohomish County website *Official Snohomish County Tourism Bureau *Snohomish County Housing Authority (HASCO) *Everett Housing Authority *University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Lee Pickett Photographs Over 1400 photographs documenting scenes from Snohomish, King and Chelan Counties in Washington State from the early 1900s to the 1940s. *A Clearview diarist on wikisource Education links *Edmonds Community College *Everett Community College *Central Washington University-Lynnwood Category:Seattle metropolitan area Category:Snohomish County, Washington Category:Established in 1861